{"id":23755,"date":"2014-08-05T15:22:06","date_gmt":"2014-08-05T19:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?p=23755"},"modified":"2014-08-05T15:22:06","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T19:22:06","slug":"dives-has-apologized-lazarus-needs-to-learn-how-to-forgive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2014\/08\/05\/dives-has-apologized-lazarus-needs-to-learn-how-to-forgive\/","title":{"rendered":"Dives has apologized, Lazarus needs to learn how to forgive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Here is a story, the Parable of the Penitent Public Figure and\u00a0the Unforgiving Patriarch Who Refused to Accept His Apology Like Jesus Commanded<\/a>:<\/p>\n

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man\u2019s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.<\/p>\n

The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.<\/p>\n

The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, \u201cFather Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s a\u00a0plea for forgiveness.\u00a0Clearly, then, Abraham\u2019s duty is to accept Dives\u2019\u00a0apology and forgive him. But Abraham unkindly rejects this plea and Lazarus says nothing at all.<\/p>\n

And whoever it is who\u2019s telling this story seems to side with them in their un-Christlike denial of forgiveness.<\/p>\n

Scot McKnight laments that Abraham, Lazarus, and the Storyteller all just don\u2019t seem to understand Jesus\u2019 example of unconditional forgiveness<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Now that Dives has confessed and apologized for his sins, we are called to forgive.<\/p>\n

I am\u00a0saddened by the vitriol spilled out against Dives. This is an expression of scapegoating and mob\/crowd anger.<\/p>\n

I am\u00a0saddened because I think\u00a0so many are\u00a0Othering Dives\u00a0when they should have been taking the posture of Jesus \u2014 who forgave his enemies, killers and those who brutally and viciously attacked him with violence. I am\u00a0saddened because I know some of these same people are more than willing to join in the song of grace that Brennan Manning sings \u2014 over and over \u2014 but for Dives\u00a0they see\u00a0no need to forgive. Perhaps they are convinced that his motives are impure, which they might be but do we really know this? Perhaps they are convinced he deserves more denunciation. In my view so many have named their victimization well, they have named his sins publicly, they have named what he has done and have had their say.<\/p>\n

What is next? Is it to grind away? Is it to turn our anger into the mob action that results in scapegoating? What is next?<\/p>\n

What I know is Jesus struck a path that was marked by an aggressive, offensive act of forgiveness toward his enemies, knowing that love and grace melt more hard hearts than the mob-like scapegoating acts to which we are all tempted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But this Storyteller and Abraham aren\u2019t interested in such radical forgiveness. They\u2019re so intent on taking Lazarus\u2019 side in this controversy that they just keep angrily grinding away even after Dives has apologized.<\/p>\n

And what about Lazarus himself, who never says a word? Look, obviously, yesbutofcourse [insert pro-forma acknowledgement of Lazarus\u2019 suffering here]. But if Lazarus understood Jesus, then he would realize that he has a duty to accept Dives\u2019 apology and to forgive him.<\/p>\n

If Abraham really wants to help Lazarus here and to be a genuine advocate for victims like him, then Abraham needs to realize that the best thing he can do for his friend would be to urge him to accept that apology. That\u2019s the only way Lazarus will ever find True Healing.<\/p>\n

These people in the photo below are just like Lazarus. They\u2019re standing outside the gate and refusing to respond to an apology with unconditional forgiveness.<\/p>\n

\"2024235304\"<\/a>
Seattle Times photo by Marcus Yam. Click photo for link to original article.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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A former managing editor of Prism magazine, Fred worked in the parachurch nonprofit world for a decade and then for a decade in the newspaper biz. He began blogging in 2002. In 2003 he began writing a review of the best-selling Left Behind series. Eight years later he still hasn\u2019t finished reviewing the second book of that series and the experience has left him a broken shell of a man. Fred knows the difference between the possessive \u201cits\u201d and the contraction \u201cit\u2019s,\u201d and he is acutely bothered when others mistakenly confuse the two, yet he himself just kind of instinctively types the apostrophe whether or not it belongs there. Some feel this is his greatest hypocrisy, but those who know him better know better. He\u2019s guilty of much greater hypocrisies. Jesus loves Fred far more than Fred loves Jesus, but he at least has the decency to recognize the unfairness of that lopsided relationship and he has long wished that he were better at maybe kind of sort of doing something more to correct that some day. A Baptist, an amateur, a Gen-Xer, a Gemini and a Mets fan, Fred lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters. You can reach him via email at slacktivist at hotmail dot com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/author\/fredclark1\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dives has apologized, Lazarus needs to learn how to forgive","description":"The Parable of the Penitent Public Figure and the Unforgiving Patriarch Who Refused to Accept His Apology Like Jesus Commanded describes some very un-Christlike behavior on the part of Abraham and Lazarus. 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Jesus loves Fred far more than Fred loves Jesus, but he at least has the decency to recognize the unfairness of that lopsided relationship and he has long wished that he were better at maybe kind of sort of doing something more to correct that some day. A Baptist, an amateur, a Gen-Xer, a Gemini and a Mets fan, Fred lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters. 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